Chaplin smiles widely as he takes us in.
“Since this wasn’t planned, I will keep it quick and to the point. Do you, Reaper,” he starts, but I stop him.
“Harrison. Legally, Chap.”
He nods. “Do you, Harrison Kingston, take Natalie to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward. Through all the ups and downs that will no doubt come with this life we lead. Will you lay your life on the line for hers and promise to make each day better than the last? Will you love her until your dying breath?”
“I will. I do. I will love her for eternity,” I tell him, staring into her eyes.
She’s crying, but the smile on her face makes my heart beat faster.
“Do you, Natalie Fairless, take Harrison as your lawfully wedded husband, accepting him for the flawed man he is but knowing he would die for you? Through all the good days, but even more on the harder ones. Will you clean his wounds and tend to him until he is back to good health? Will you give him your all, knowing that he will always catch you?”
“I do. Always and forever,” she says the words with conviction.
I smile at the strength in her. She came to me as a broken woman, but now she is a queen.
My queen.
“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
And I do. Over and over again until she is breathless. Until the sounds of our cheering family fades.
I kiss her until my lips are sore and the breath in my lungs has become hers.
I give her my all and accept her in return.
In this moment, I feel we have truly become one entity.
“I love you,” she whispers against my lips when I finally pull back.
“Words cannot describe the way I feel. You own me, Queen Bee.”
“As you do me.”
In that moment, I couldn’t be happier.
* * *
“Mrs. Kingston, may I introduce you to your new home?” Harrison says as he carries me over the threshold.
He demanded I let him carry me. We are married after all.
We stayed and partied with the family for a little bit, but then he stole me away. He said he couldn’t wait another second to get me alone.
I thought he was taking me back to our room.
I was wrong.
“You are going to let me live here?” I ask him.
He chuckles. “You’re my old lady. My wife now. This is your home too. I want us to move in here. I know you still have a lot of stuff going on at the club, but I’ll get you a car, or hell, assign you someone to always drive you around. I want you here in our new bed every night. I want you to decorate this place and give it your touches. I want to know every day when I walk into this house that it’s a home where we live together. Say you’ll move here with me.”
I shake my head at his antics. “You dummy. Of course I’ll move in here with you. I loved this place the minute you brought me here months ago. Back then, I hated thinking about you having someone else here. I wanted it to be my place, even if I was scared to admit it. I love that you want to give that to me.”
“I want to take care of you. It might seem silly as hell, but my biggest turn-on with you is when you let me do things for you. Getting you a drink. Cuddling you. Making you food. Tending to your wounds. All of it makes me feel like you need me. It’s a kink I never even realized I had until you.”
I snort. “So if I told you to give me a foot rub right now?”